


old bridges, new ones arise

by Notanactualhumanbeing



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Dream pins really badly, Ex-king Technoblade, Farmer Technoblade, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Techno soft hours?, Tommy and Tubbo serotonin, Twin au?, Unrequited Love, knight dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notanactualhumanbeing/pseuds/Notanactualhumanbeing
Summary: Forced to make the decision, leave his kingdom and run away with his boys or watch them perish right infront of his eyes. War was never kind and he knew King Jschlatt would never let either boys see the light of day and he.... He would be executed in the very lands he sought out to protect and rule.Now only known as just Technoblade (Dave), a simple potato farmer, caretaker of two young boys. How could he ever rule his kingdom again?And can he ever stop this green knight  from finding out the truth?*Uh, I've had this idea in my head for awhile. Obviously I don't ship the creators, just the characters they play as.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream/Dave | Technoblade, Dave | Technoblade & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit
Comments: 96
Kudos: 682





	1. origins

He can’t sleep again, tired crimson eyes track the young boys. Illuminated by the light of the candles, their chests moving up and down, as they dream of endless fantasies and glories. As it should be, they shouldn’t ever have to face the sad reality much more than they have already. 

Tommy was still so young, yes he can be a bit too much to deal with, but would Jschlatt ever see the kind and thoughtful boy he gets to see every day? Would Jschlatt ever see the way the boy throws himself with the utmost determination at every task he’s assigned to? Would Jschlatt ever see past the fact that he’s still a very young and innocent boy? Who hasn’t ever had the thought of overtaking lands and nearby villages? It was a foolish idea, he himself would also forget those details if he was ever in such position. Kill the king and let the boys he’s taken in live and one day be slayed by the very person you that day decided to spare? He would just spare a glance at the boys and slay them just as quickly. Thoughts that made his stomach churn. 

Oh god, and sweet Tubbo, he would have never lasted a chance in such a kingdom ruled under Jschlatt’s might. Jschlatt would push and push until Tubbo was nothing more than a shell of his former self. 

War was never kind, to neither the kingdom itself or the family Techno had so carefully hidden. Techno who had never let himself entertain such frivolous ideas, who he himself had promised never again. 

But, was it so wrong to seek such a thing? Techno had grown so tired of endless bloody crusades, of just being him. Alone, and wanted by people who liked the idea of showing him of like some type of trophy.

Look at me, look at me, look at how I’ve domesticated the blood god

So when Techno had made the mistake of taking in the two boys, how could he ever thought of letting them go? Days in the castle were never dreary and gloomy with them around. It was never just Techno anymore, the castle once again echoed joyous laughter, Techno had once again found a family.  
A family who he would risk everything for.

Even a kingdom.

Yes, maybe it was cowardly of Techno to give up and flee from a kingdom he worked so hard for. A kingdom who he shed so much blood for, a kingdom who he built on the foundation of never giving up, be the last man standing and die with dignity. 

But, the very same kingdom, who had never given him anything in return. Who complained of the way things are, when the neighboring kingdom ruled by Jschlatt was crueler than his own. The people who hadn’t given such a warm welcome to him taking care of Tommy and Tubbo.

It was still your kingdom, and you gave it up for two snotty boys. Who might kill you in your sleep one day and prove Jschlatt right. A kingdom who you slaughtered innocents for, who you instilled the reputation of blood god.  
Now Jschlatt is king, king of your kingdom, hissed his subconscious.

Techno tiredly runs calloused hands through his now short pink hair. He lifts his cup of now cold tea, and takes a small sip. He had cut his hair once they had made it to a land, that neither he or Jschlatt owned, it was ruled by a man called Skeppy. He had also abandoned his pig skull he wears, that could have been easily recognized by Skeppy's people. Techno had also made the boys cut their hair too, a little more shorter than necessary. 

He looks out the only window that the shack they built had. It seems already that it’s the next day, another sleepless night.  
He gets up from the birch tree chair that the people of this village had gifted him. A small sob story, that easily pulled the heartstring of the villagers, and he was gifted things to start a new life. 

Techno bit his lip, yet again lying to get his own way. He unconsciously taps his fingers against the pendant he had around his neck.  
He looks back to the boys sleeping and absently thinks about starting a potato farm. 

-

The green knight roams the large and utmost impressive halls of the castle. Every inch was built with gold and the most expensive building material. Fit for a king, he thought. The infamous blood god, he had heard first of that name once he had joined Jschlatt’s order.  
Jschlatt had decided one evening dinner to start describing the young king he was at odds with, he described him as ruthless and cold. Who held back no mercy for anybody, who Jschlatt swore killed his own parents in cold blood. A man so great, he had beaten a whole trained army of knights in just one night. That if they ever saw him charging towards them, they were better off dying in a prison cell. 

Clay had never heard such blasphemy, that was until he had lead a charge in a piece of land Jschlatt had wanted. He had never seen a king fighting in his own ranks. But there he was, the blood god himself, King Technoblade. 

The king had cut through most of his ranks with such ease, his cape staining itself with the blood of Clay’s men, fighting with such fury. Pink hair, fluttering everywhere and a pig skull covering his face. Adrenaline high from just watching as his men were slaughtered one by one. He continued fighting, wanting a chance to duel the King himself. But at a cost of more of his men? 

That day, he had retreated and had lost the land, no point in fighting anymore. As he retreated, he couldn’t help but look back at the king. Maybe it was a trick his mind had conjured up, but he almost remembers the king looking back at him.  
Upon arriving and telling Jschlatt of his loss, Jschlatt had laughed and patted his shoulder. 

We'll get him one day just you wait. 

Even though he had lost, deep down he considered it a win. Once he knew the fatal errors that King Technoblade had shown in battle, he improved the way he assembled his army and how he wanted to attack.  
Then why did he feel such disappointment once they won the war. For such a remarkable king, the win was just handed so easy?. He had prepared for this battle for months, just so that King Technoblade dies of a sudden shot of an arrow? Alongside the boys he took care of? It sounded to good to be true. 

The castle was beautiful, though it was such a recent kingdom, it had so much more things then Jschlatt’s own castle. 

“Dream!” He turns around and sees his good friend, George. A fellow friend from childhood, whom he had grown up alongside with.

“What is it?” 

“King Jschlatt had sent me to retrieve you”

He lifts his brow, though his face isn’t on display, covered by a white mask with a drawn smiley face, he lets his voice drip with suspicion.

“What for?”

“Who knows man, he just told me to retrieve you” George says, and pushes him to the direction of where Jschlatt is currently located. 

“Can you believe it? We really won, we finally own the pigs kingdom!” 

“..I guess”

George raises a quizzical glance at him, “Are you not happy?”

“Of course I am!” 

“Then why the pause?”

“… Don’t you think it was little to easy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we trained so hard for so long, thinking this was it. Just so that King Technoblade dies of a arrow? And his army immediately surrenders?”

“I mean, yes it was easy! But it was better than having anymore casualties!” George exclaims.

“I guess so..”

George hums, they both enter the room Jschlatt has chosen to stay at. The throne room, once Jschlatt lays his eyes on him, Jschlatt immediately perks up.

“Dream! My fellow champion! Thank you so much George for bringing him. You are dismissed” 

George says a quick thank you and bows. He leaves the room, but not without squeezing Clay’s fingers reassuringly. 

Clay thinks of how lucky he is to have a friend like him. 

“Dream.”

“Yes your highness?”

“Drop the formalities!” laughs Jschlatt, “you know you can call me King Jschlatt!” 

“Alright..”

Jschlatt rises from the throne and walks to the nearby window. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, dropping all acts of excitement. He’s frustrated, but from what?

“I’m gonna cut to the chase Dream, King Technoblade isn’t dead” 

“Oh.”

“Not surprised huh? See, I knew there was a reason why I made you commander of my knights. You knew he was still alive?”

“I mean, I had a suspicion he was alive..but I didn’t think he actually was..” 

“Well he is!” Jschlatt angrily shouts, “He’s alive and I have a whole fucking kingdom who thinks so” He slams his hands on the window, “ I need you to find that fucker and get rid of him, him and those little twerps he has.”

“But sir, how would I know where he went? Even if I knew, I wouldn’t even know how he looked like.” 

“I don’t know Dream! Figure it out! That’s why I made you commander, because you’re the smartest out of the whole lot. The others are just fucking idiots.” 

Clay bites the inside of his cheeks from speaking back, he takes one step forward and bows down. 

“As you command King Jschlatt.”

“Excellent! Get to it at once! You’re dismissed!” answered Jschlatt rather cheerfully, as if he did not have a small tantrum of the mere idea of King Technoblade being alive. 

Dream nods and walks out of the throne room.  
How was he to find a king, who like him, has never shown his face? 

He shakes his head and sighs, that’s a task for tomorrow. He’s off to go sleep, already planning what he will do tomorrow.

That night, he dreams of a endless ocean of pink.


	2. ideas

The lands they were on, weren’t as bad as he thought they would be. King Skeppy, albeit being only a few years younger, had risen his kingdom to being financially set in agriculture. 

Most of the goods that were transported (from what he could remember) to both his and Jschlatt’s kingdom were all from King Skeppy’s kingdom.

And how could it not? Most of the lands were just of different types of crops. With small communities of villages in every so hundred acres of these plots of land. In which the crops were harvested and shipped to the capital, and traded of to nearby kingdoms. 

The village he was currently staying at was no exception. 

Techno had asked around the village, what type of crops were specifically harvested and shipped to said capital. They had shown him some of the lands that belong to the village. As to be expected, hundreds of rows of wheat and a whole section that had some withered plants. 

_(“Well, you see we've always been growin' wheat and potatoes.” murmured old man Steve, as he brewed some tea for them to drink. It smelt strongly of peppermint. Old man Steve had kindly been the one that showed him where the plots of lands were, he had even invited Techno to have some tea with him._

_As he placed two cups down, he spoke once again “but ever since Henry and his men went to the capital we’ve been struggling keeping up with the potato farm we have.” He poured the scolding hot tea in both cups._

_“Thank you.”_

_Old man Steve plopped himself on a nearby chair, and sighed. “And we’ve got no other available man that would want to work on the potato farm, they say it’s too big for just little crops!”_

_“Well….I would like to take care of the potato farm”)_

When you're basically royalty, everything is pretty much handed to you, whether it be the finest jewelry or fine silks, he pretty much didn't have any knowledge on growing such things. All he was really good at was painting his enemies with the deepest carnal red, and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting knights/bounty hunters. He did have at least some knowledge of growing something, he was fond of growing flowers, as it attracted a lot of bees, something Tubbo enjoyed. But in terms of growing a farm? He has no idea how to even begin. 

But here he was, deciding to take a task that he knows nothing about. Although he did say he wanted to start a potato farm, and he was quick at picking up things. It even helped going unnoticed, King Technoblade the self proclaimed blood god, getting down and dirty? Who could even imagine, no one would. If he played his cards right, he could get away with being a plain old farmer taking care of two kids. 

_hmm.._

"Blade!!!" A young voice called out, arms waving dramatically over their head "where should we start placing?!!!??!!" 

Ah, Tubbo. 

Tubbo was rather enthusiastic about the idea of taking care of the villages farms, the again, he was mostly excited about going outside. Techno didn't let either boys go outside, fearing that someone might recognize them or the boy blurting out something they shouldn't. It was just safe to have them inside the shack. 

He had decided to wake both boys up and go start the process of growing some potatoes. The fields were quite the mess, overgrown weeds, dead plants everywhere. Compared to the wheat farm, this whole section of the land was in far worse condition than he imagined.  
It was especially hot outside, the rays of the sun cooking him from the inside out. 

Today just wasn't going to be easy.

Maybe he should start going over some of those books he has. As it was the only thing he had brought. Maybe there would be something for speeding up the process of the farm. 

"I think Blade should do it by himself", grumbled the other boy, Tommy.

Tommy did not like the fact that they were just taking care of the potato farm. He had wanted to explore the outskirts of the land, go hunting, or go exploring like they used too. They had gotten all of the weeds out, and had trimmed off the dead plants, both boys exhausted and weary from the task.

"Tommy, I told you once we have a good understanding of the lands, we'll go out hunting. In the mean time...." he picked up the iron hoe and passed it to Tommy. "You can start hoeing down some dirt, so we can plant these seed pieces.

_"You heard that Tubbo, we better start hoe-"_

"Tommy."

Both boys burst out laughing.

Despite everything, he smiles, they're fine.

They're fine.

-

The sword pressed itself a little harder on the man's neck.

"Are you going to tell me where he is? Or should I just kill you for wasting my time?"

"I-i told you! There was a pink haired man and two boys that passed by a few weeks ago, they had asked for directions, a..and left just as quickly as they came!", the man blurted out nervously. 

"No directions?"

"The-they were heading north i..it seemed like! To Kin..g Skeppy's kingdom"

The green knight scans the petrified man, eventhough he could barely make out some of the information said with how scared the man was. He wasn't lying.

"Describe the boys."

"O-one had blon..blonde hair, blue eyes, and the o-other.. had brown hair, green eyes. I swear this is all I know man!!!" 

Clay sighs, and puts away the sword, the man slumps down and sobs. 

It lines up with the other descriptions, just like in the other villages. That a tall pink hair man with the deepest crimson eyes, had been asking for directions to the nearest kingdom. He was accompanied by a blonde haired boy with blue eyes wearing a red and white shirt, and a brown haired boy with green eyes wearing a dark green shirt. 

Either they were just complete coincidences, or they were actually alive.

Clay walks towards his horse, looking through the pouches he had on the horse. He took out a map, it seems he was still far away from making it to Skeppy's kingdom. It would at least take him another few weeks getting there. 

He just had to remind himself that it was all worth it, because he would be the one to bring him back to Jschlatt (either dead or alive). He would finally be able to fight the king.

Clay looks at the sky, it's almost night time. He would have to stay in the village, the same village who he had threaten for information. 

He knew it wasn't right to threaten people for information, but how else would he be able to get some? He shakes his head.

_You're just making excuses, Clay_

He grabs his horse and pulls her forward, maybe they can avoid having to sleep in the village and find a nice spot to camp at.

Yeah, that sounds like a better idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, tysm for 100 kudos,,,!!!! <333  
> Even though this chapter is small, i hope it's okay!!! <33
> 
> We'll get more Dream pov, I promise!!
> 
> If anyone's confused on the timeline, in Technos Pov, he's a few months ahead of Dreams Pov in terms of the timeline. Once Dream gets there, they'll be on the same page! Hope this clears up any confusion!!!


	3. shorts

There were always bad days, days where Techno couldn’t bring himself to socialize with Tommy or Tubbo. He would lock himself away from any interaction, feelings of vulnerability clouding any rational thinking. As if his mind were presented out in the open, his deepest thoughts and emotions being read aloud. He didn’t enjoy it. 

Days where he came to regret his decision of ever leaving his kingdom, of ever fleeing from the onslaught of Jschlatt’s men. Days where he would sit and cry, beg silently for forgiveness at anyone who could hear him. But, who would ever hear his cries? No one ever took pity on the blood god, he who enjoys both wrath and destruction.

Maybe it was karma, who had come back to haunt his every move, for him to pay the many lives he’s took. Lives he could not return.  
He always felt guilty, for ever thinking of such a doubt. For ever roping Tommy and Tubbo into his mess, of ever thinking he deserved a family.  
But the kingdom, ruling and seeking lands was like breathing to Techno, it was so familiar to him. Mostly alone, the mere mention of a family made him sick. He couldn’t ever see himself as a normal person again, just simply living a normal life with a family again.

Techno's kingdom, it wasn’t always his, it was his father’s-

_King Philza._

A man with bright blonde hair, ocean colored eyes and a laugh that lit up the whole room. A man that made nearby kingdoms think twice in ever trying to start battles, but someone who unconditionally loved his two sons. 

A man so great, whom he loved dearly. 

Someone he missed so much. 

_So much._

Maybe that’s why he thought he owed so much to the kingdom. It was never his, it was his father’s. He had to carry it and hold it up, just as Atlas did with the heavens. Swallow and take as much punishment, just to ever think his father would be proud of him. Whether it was being a stubborn and a frightful man while negotiating, or starting a reputation of being death itself. It was all for his father and brother, would they ever be proud of his decision in leaving?

“TOMMY!!! WATCH OUT WHERE YOU’RE POINTING THAT BOW!! “ 

“GET OUT OF MY WAY THEN!!”

“TOMMY!”

“TUBBO!”

Bright peals of laughter followed the two boys ongoing bickering. As he looked out the window, he had only one thought:

_Maybe he could imagine they were._

-

“Now watch where you’re g-“

“Going to strike! I know Blade! I’ve got this!” Tommy shouts.

“If you really got this, maybe you would have taken the shot already~” sang Tubbo. 

“Shut it! You’re messing up my perfect accuracy!”

“You’re bow skills suck man, tell him Blade!”

Tommy stuck out his tongue at Tubbo and aimed the bow at a rabbit they’ve been trying to kill. The arrow pierced the rabbit.

“YOU SAW THAT TUBBO! BLADE!! IM JUST THAT GOOD! FEAR ME!”

“BOOO, YOU STINK! YOU TOOK FOREVER!”

Techno walked to the where the dead rabbit was, their dinner meal for the day. After a long and exhausting day working in the potato farm, he decided it was probably for the better to take the boys on a hunting trip as a reward. Tommy had been dying to go, so here they were. 

He took the arrow out of the rabbit and packed the animal in a thin paper material, finishing it off with tying some string to secure it. He tossed it towards Tubbo, who was barely able to catch it. 

“You’re in charge of the most important duty-“ he paused dramatically “taking care of our splendid dinner.”

Tubbo mocked saluted and nodded enthusiastically. 

As they started walking back to their shack, a hand tugged his shirt.

“Hmmm?”

“Did I do good Techno?”, the voice questioned nervously.

He looked at Tommy, _ocean blue eyes_ (same colored eyes) stared at him rather hopefully.

He huffed in fake annoyance and ruffled blonde hair, “you did good Tommy.”

The boy preened at the compliment and grabbed his hand. Tubbo had also decided to grab his other hand, practically vibrating in excitement. All three of them walk towards their home, the sky darkening to pretty shades of purple and deep red.

_“You both did great.”_

-

It had all started when he started chatting with Old man Steve, who was elated to have his company.

“I don’t know how you did it Dave, but you somehow got that potato farm going for us again!” blabbered the man excitedly as he set some cups down and poured some tea. It smelled of a marine aroma this time.

“Hm.”

“I’ve never seen such dedication at the mere concept of farming!” Old man Steve laughed, “You’re almost as good as that squid kid from the neighboring village. I’ve heard he mass produces them at a flick of his fingers, who knows how he does it!” 

“Hmmm.” 

“He’s the sole man who produces large quantities of potato’s for the kingdom, heard that King Skeppy himself called the squid kid, the number 1 potato famer in the kingdom. ” 

“Do you know how much he produces in a day?” he droned out boredly, absently stirring the green liquid with his spoon.

“He’s said to produce 5.5 million potato’s in a day.”

“Oh” Techno says, he’s a little shocked himself, his farm could produce at least 3.5 million. Maybe with a little more enchantments, he could mass produce more at a quicker pace. 

Old man Steve laughs, “But with how much you’ve been doing, it’s safe to say Squid Kid might have some competition, but then again, he produces much more than you have.”

Techno raises a brow, “Do you think I can’t do it?” he accused. 

Old man Steve chokes a bit on his tea and looks at him, “I-I mean, you could, but, you would have to collect millions in just a few days!! See how much you get shipped back at the capital, see your rankings in the community boards in the village!!”

He hums and abruptly stands up, finishing his tea in a quick gulp. “Thank you for the tea Steve, but I have unfinished business to attend to.”

The old man sputters and stands up as well, opening the door for him. “A-alright Dave! Don’t do anything to crazy, say hi to those boys for me!”

“Will do, take care.”

In a sense, he _could_ do it, he could surpass this squid kid in numbers. It would be quite funny to see squid kids face when a very recent farmer took his spot as number 1 potato farmer. Though, it would give a lot of attention, unnecessary attention. He just wanted to convey the image of being a simple farmer, but then again, it would be quite easy getting to that number one spot. It would rise suspicion on the community boards, which for a reminder, were all plastered on every inch of the kingdom. 

But it would be easy, looking at his production rate and Squids, his would surpass Squids naturally. The only thing he would have to do, was enchant more to just reach the top quicker. He could also travel to Squids farm to see how he produces his potato’s. 

He’s stuck on the thought as he sets the table for dinner. He would need expert advice from very trustworthy opinions, ones that ring such truth, there would be no doubts.

“Should I? Or should I not?” 

Tommy looked at him as if had grown two separate heads. Tommy’s brows were pinched, a frown starting to form on his face, his hands gripping the silverware until his knuckles turned white. 

“Are you crazy Blade?! That would draw to much attention on all of us!”

“But it would bring more money to the village” interjected Tubbo. “Think about it! More money for the village, means we could finally go exploring with better equipment!.”

“I know that! But he’s obviously doing it for the thrill of it!” 

“Are you Blade?” Tubbo turned to face him, disdain already present in his voice.

He clearly wasn’t, he just wanted to beat squid kid at his own game.

“No.”

Tommy rolls his eyes, “Yeah right, what ever happened to being a simple farmer then?” 

“I still am Tommy, but I am producing at such a fast pace every single day, I eventually will beat Squid Kid's title. Whether it be naturally or me speeding up the process.” He clearly didn’t want to make Tommy upset, but logically speaking he would surpass Squid Kid, in either 3 weeks from here or a month. It was a natural progression. 

“See Tommy, we have nothing to worry about, just promise us Blade, you won’t do any more enchantments!” 

“How about a counter offer?”

“BLADE!”, shouted the boys in protest.

Despite everything he’s told himself, he laughed rather loudly and smiled, “Alright, how about we go out exploring next week?”

Chorus of loud yelling followed suit, Tommy and Tubbo standing up, bumping into the table as they rushed and made Techno participate in a death gripping hug.

“You’re the man Big T!” “Thank you Blade!!!”

Some blood god he is, he hugged the boys.  
“Tommy, don’t ever call me that again.”

“Aye Aye Blade!.”

-

How would he even know if this was King Technoblade?. It could be any other person, he thought as he raced through the forests. 

Maybe it was just a coincidence that the man had pink hair, or that he had two boys attached to his hip. They mentioned they wore simple commoners clothing, that the pink man, instead of having long pink locks, he had hair that reached his chin. He did not have his famous pig skull and had looked like a very frail man. But the villagers mentioned that the man had looked as if he was running away from something, he was always in a hurry and refrained from explaining more on his situation.  
It had to be them, the timing was just too perfect to be coincidental.

He glanced down at his map, just a few more day and he would be at King Skeppy’s domain, he would stop at the capital and try to stock up some supplies. 

He would probably head to the villages, it wouldn’t really make any sense for the ex-king and the boys to stay at the capital. They were probably hidden in some village, which would yet again take long to figure out which one it was. The lands were huge and we’re mostly occupied by famers. With his luck, he was hoping for some kind of attention to lure in the ex-king. 

He would also have to be careful stepping in King Skeppy’s territory, they weren’t to kind to any of Jschlatt’s knights. He would probably be jumped if he just waltz into the capital.

Clay would have to take off his armor, probably take off his mask. 

He ran his hands through his hair and sighed, this was going to be harder then he thought.

If only he had a companion with him, anybody really.

It would be worth it.

_It had to be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter! But please enjoy !!! 
> 
> Oops, we'll get more Dream pov later!!!<3


	4. discoveries

The sun was at it’s brightest today, as he kneeled on the ground to inspect his potato’s. They would be ready by tomorrow, to be shipped and sent off to the capital. Meaning he would be close to the numbers squid kid was averaging each day, he'll beat it, Techno's sure of it.

Beads of sweat ran down his face, it was so unnecessarily humid today not even his straw hat was able to keep him cool, taking it off, he pushed some hair back. 

When he heard a loud gasp coming from his right, he quickly turned to see who it w-

When a sudden pair of hands combed through his hair, “You never told us you dyed your hair Blade!” Tubbo excitedly said , running his hands through his hair in fascination (?).

His own eyes widen in surprise, had his roots grown that much to reveal a mess of muddy brown hair? He had thought he had at least a couple of weeks until his roots grown in and spoiled his secret. He didn’t even remember ever not having his pink hair, having first dyed it after making a bet with Wilbur.

_Wilbur._

He hadn’t thought of that name since-

He quickly closed his eyes, swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. 

Techno had kept dyeing it for the sake of just being rebellious- 

_(Wilbur had always laughed at his antics, he’d had always called Techno silly for ever thinking of such ideas._

_Wilbur’s eyes would always light up whenever he played a chord right. Techno had always joked that it would take him a billion years memorizing the song that Wilbur had come up with. No less being a song about a girl._

_He played it the very next day._

_Wilbur…)-_

which quickly proceeded to him dyeing it for the sake of cutting all resemblance to a family he once had. 

“-and I was thinking maybe we can get some of those flowers we used to grow and plant them in front of our new house! After all, we are tearing that ugly shack down!”.

He hadn’t even realized he had started crying, when Tubbo immediately dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Techno. Ruining his image one step at a time it seemed.

“I didn’t know the shack meant so much!!! I’m sorry! We can keep the shack too!” 

“No.. it’s not about that..” He gingerly wrapped his arms around Tubbo, tucking the boys face in the crook of his neck, “how about we find those flowers today? Tommy’s pretty busy trying to model the house. I think he's trying to call it “The big T's house”.

Tubbo huffed, “that’s such a dumb name, I don’t know how you let him get away with it blade!”

"I don’t know either.”

Tubbo looked at him, “you know blade, you would look pretty cool letting your roots grow more! You’ll look more like me!”

“You think so? I don’t like it very much.”

“No! I think it’s very cool!”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s good enough for me!!” Tubbo wiggled himself out of the hug (much to his disappointment), he stood up and held his hand out, “Come on! We have some flowers to find!”

He took the hand, standing up, wiping away any tear tracks still on his face. Maybe he can grow it out more, he doesn’t know. 

“Alright.”

But it’s a start. 

-

Clay had made it to the capital after some time, he was currently buying some more supplies to head out to the villages outside the capital.

He felt quite nervous, maybe it’s because of the anticipation of knowing that’ll he’ll be the first to discover the King after so many months.

Maybe.

It sucked that he had to trade some possessions he had, since he didn’t have the currency to buy anything in the capital.

He had bought more food for him and his horse, a new compass since his had just recently broke. He had to trade in his chest plate, which raised some eyebrows from the merchant.

_(“This is some top notch armor, you sure you want to get rid of it? I’ve only seen armor this good in that Jschlatt kingdom”._

_“Oh, I’m sure. I have nothing else to offer and I really need the food. I’m trying to seek a friend in the villages outside the capital”_

_“Alright… but I have to warn you, there’s been a ton of raids happening all over those villages. King Skeppy’s been trying to stomp them out, but it’s as if they keep coming back for more” tutting in mild disappointment, the merchant handed him the bag of gold coins.)_

Leaving the capital, he hopped on his horse and rode his way into the forest. Clay would just have to trust his luck in finding the village. 

-

It was the loud blaring horn that shook Techno awake. He groaned, it had to be the remaining raiders from last week. 

He stood up and looked out the window, some villagers were outside, gearing up. Seems like the raiders couldn’t stand to admit that a farmer had eliminated almost all of them. They were out for his blood it seemed. 

He changed into something comfortable and grabbed his sword. He was about to exit-

“Techno…?” a small sleepy voice croaked, it seemed Tommy had woken up as well.

Grabbing Tommy’s hand, he lead him back to his bed, “It’s just another raid Tommy, it’s okay. Just go back to sleep, I’ll be back in the morning.”

Cursing the fondness he had for the boy, he kissed Tommy’s forehead.

“Alrigh..t Dave..… be safe?”

“I will.” He walked towards Tubbo's bed and gave the sleepy boy a kiss on the forehead as well.  
He exited the house, and stretched his neck.  
This’ll be long.

Tommy knew that Techno had won the battle, well, the whole village had won. But the loud cheers he heard from their house were mostly of Techno’s name, his real name at least.

(He had remembered slipping up and calling Techno by his real name. He hoped Techno didn’t mind it.)

He was making some tea for when Techno arrived, it was quite early for him to be awake. He just had to make sure Techno was returning home or if he needed some medical attention. Tommy knew the man always battled sloppily nearing the end of his fights, more likely succumbing to some minor injuries. 

He placed some of Techno's favored herbs into the kettle and let it simmer there for a few. 

Tubbo would be awake in a couple of minutes, knowing his friend always woke up the earliest out of all three of them, mentioning 'taking care of the flowers he and Techno had planted'. 

It would be quite the shock.

He placed some cups on the table and waited for Techno to arrive.

“Tommy?”

Speak of the devil, he was about to greet the man when he got a good look. 

He looked so _tired_. It looked as if he was going to fall over any minute now, he had some cuts littering his shoulders.

Tommy quickly made his way to Techno and rushed him inside, forcing him to sit down. He poured the tea into Techno's cup and quickly looked for a medical kit.

“Good grief Techno, you look like shit.”

The man snorted, “Well, the raid did wake me up from my beauty sleep.” dryly laughing at his own joke.

He shouldn’t look this tired Tommy thought, he had such heavy dark circles around his eyes, sickly pale skin and was trembling slightly as he lifted the cup to drink some of the tea.

He successfully found the medical kit, when Tubbo had decided to join them. Tubbo’s face flickered into different emotions, surprised when he spotted him, and a look of worry once he saw Techno.

“Techno! You look awful!"

“That’s what I told him!”

He placed the medical kit down onto the table and grabbed the disinfectant. 

“I’m fine.” 

“No you’re not!” exclaimed Tubbo, “you look like you’re about to fall over and die on us”

He dabbed some of the disinfectant on Techno’s cuts, hissing slightly.

“Well, I think I’m doing okay, I should start preparing-“

“No, you’re heading straight to bed.”

Techno raises a brow at him, “Really?.”

“Yes really, you look like you're about to pass out!”

“But I said I was perfectly fine, I-“

“How are you going to take care of us, if you’re practically one step away from dying on us?” cut in Tubbo.

Techno gaped at Tubbo, mouth opening and closing but no words coming out of said mouth.

(It felt kind of good? Leaving a dumbfounded Techno?.)

His gaze soften, “All right, I'll take a small nap.” 

Standing up from his chair, he grabbed hold of his cup of tea. 

He kissed Tubbo on his forehead and had also kissed his forehead! 

_(Which he loved!_

_Not.)_

“Take care of the farm?” Techno said as he strode away to his room.

“Yes!” “Yeah.” 

-

It was a complete accident when he had found a small white dog wandering around.

Tubbo was minding his own business, taking care of the farm, since Tommy was still heavily modeling the house, and Techno was visiting a friend (unbelievable right?).

When he had spotted such a cute dog hiding in some bushes. It was a bit dirty, nothing but a good wash cant fix. 

He gave the cute dog a nice wash, and had spent the last few minutes watching it chase it’s tail around. It was nearing night time and he should probably head home before Techno or god forbid Tommy goes out looking for him.

He couldn’t leave the dog alone.

“What is that under your shirt?” a monotone voice called out.

Tubbo yelped and blocked any view of a dog shape from Techno. 

“TECHNO! WHAT A SURPRISE! I DIDN’T THINK YOU'D BE BACK???!”

Oof, Tubbo, not suspicious at all right?

“I was going to look for you, but it seems I didn’t have to, but I ask again, what do you have under your shirt?”

“Whaaaat? Under my shirt?”, Can’t you be any more suspicious, Tubbo?

“It’s a dog isn’t it?”

He let out a sigh of defeat and took the puppy out. “Look I have a explanation! He was just lonely and dirty-“ he placed the puppy down, “- and he needed a bath, so I gave him the bath, and I just couldn’t leave him alone-“

Laughing.

Stopping his embarrassing ramble and looked in shock as he saw the puppy lick Techno's finger, and Techno was laughing as if it were the funniest thing.

“I think you forgot to feed the puppy Tubbo” 

“I-I did!”

“Why don’t you look for some milk? Maybe place it in a small bowl?” offered Techno.

“Y-yeah! I’ll get on it!”. He fled from the scene, this had to be dream?.

_(“WHAT!? YOU GUYS GOT A DOG WITHOUT TELLING ME?!”_

_“We’ll, I got it-“_

_“Tubbo!”_

_“Tommy!!!, I just brought him home!”_

_“What are we gonna name it?” Tommy said as he crouched to give the puppy some scratches on it’s head._

_“Floof.”_

_They both turned their heads at Techno, did they just hear him correctly?_

_“Come again?”_

_Techno looked up from his book, looked them straight in the eye and uttered the words:_

_“Floof, that’s the puppy’s name.”_

_“Fine by me!” Tommy returned to baby talking Floof._

_Holy- this had to be a dream.)_

-

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

He totally fucked up, he kept running, even though his legs felt as they were about to collapse.

He had to get away.

He looked back and saw some of the raiders still running towards him.

Shit.

Clay had nothing on him, having been ambushed suddenly while stopping his horse near a small stream(which wasn’t such a very ideal place to be stopping at, he should've taken the merchants advice and kept his guard up). He could only grab some arrows, but what good was an arrow if he didn’t have a bow to launch the arrows.

Fuck.

He heard the sound of an arrow launch-

Pain sprouting on his side, ripping out a loud cry from him and promptly crashing into the ground, cracking any remnant of his mask. He tried standing up, but felt as if his legs were made of jelly.

_Fuck._

He was going to die here, he actually was.

The sounds of heavy steps coming closer, the raiders were approaching.

_Come on, get up, get up._

He heard a cry of pain, not his own though.

The sounds quieted.

No more heavy footsteps.

Someone must’ve heard the commotion, a villager probably. He remembered he was close to a village. Body shaking in protest as he tried moving his hand to the spot where the arrow was.

As his vision slowly turned spotty, he felt cool calloused hands gently touch his face. The person hummed, Clay tried with all his might to focus his gaze at the person humming and he swore:

_He was drowning in pink again._

Pink hair, dark roots.

(!)

It felt laughable to feel such relief at seeing that color before he died, slowly falling in a endless pink void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀
> 
> Thank u to that one user who commented they wanted to see Floof! 
> 
> Comments are always welcomed and appreciated!!! <3 !!
> 
> Imma edit this in the morning, it's like 1 am, hahahaha.


	5. meeting

It was the cool feeling of something wet being pressed against his forehead that steadily reminded him that he was in fact: not dead. He felt as if his body was being thrown to the hot flames that littered hell, he truly felt awful. His throat was extremely dry and it hurt just to swallow the little saliva he accumulated. His skin was scorching hot.

Once the cool feeling ended, he whimpered. He tried opening his eyes but just couldn’t, his eyelids were just so heavy. The soft sounds of fabric moving around alerted him that someone was still here. Maybe they’re the one keeping him alive. He wouldn’t know, it was to tiring to think to much about it.

He heard a splash sound coming from the room and felt that cool feeling resting on his forehead, it was probably a wet rag. He sighed, that felt nice. 

A rough but slender hand traced his neck, their fingers looping and tracing out patterns on his skin, inexplicably making the hairs of his body stand up. 

It felt nice. 

Their hands were cold and brought a blissful feeling on his searing body. The hand seemed to slip away and he groaned in anguish, he felt overwhelmed. 

His lips met with what seems to be a spoon, it smelled of herbal leaves and of burnt sugar. It bumped against his lips, he opened his mouth and tasted of the exact thing he smelt of. It was awful and he recoiled from having to drink more, promptly feeling the wet rag slide from his forehead.

They hushed him and repositioned the rag back, Clay smiled lucidly and slowly slipped back to sleep.

-

The next time he awoke, he felt as if god had decided to grant him back his vision and opened to see a soft stream of sunlight wash over the room he was in. He sat up.

The room was big and had a very high ceiling, the walls were covered in what seemed to be charcoal drawings, there was furniture that looked scratched and marked and a big window. The long birch wood table had papers scattered on it, whoever had been in the room dumped their work in a hurry. There was a small mountain of dirty clothes in the corner of the room.

It felt comforting. It felt _lively_ , the room had so many little details that clearly convey the feeling of home, someone’s home. 

The charcoal drawings are what really stood out to him, whoever the artist was absolutely loved using charcoal as their only medium to work with. Their lines were heavy and dark, exaggerated shadows on some of the still figures, the crosshatching looked quick and messy. Most of the sketches were of fruits, sceneries that looked out of this world, occasionally of an animal in the action of running away.

He stood up from the bed, pressing fingers to his side and braced himself for any pain, when he felt none he looked at his side. There was nothing there, no injury, no scar, as if he hadn’t been shot with an arrow at all. He stood to where the wall of black and white sketches hanged and admired them up close, the level of skill the artist had left him mesmerized.

It appeared to him that the artist didn’t seem to sketch out any faces, until he stood face to face with what looked to be a sketch of a man. The man had shoulder length hair with dark shaded in roots, his nose was slender and long, the man was in the middle of laughing, showing of perfect straight teeth. The artist had decided to break their black and white code and used a bright red to color in the man’s eyes. Had anyone ever heard of the phrase, old eyes old soul? It perfectly explained the eyes of the man, mature and wise.  
He had to admit, the man was beautiful, a god among men.

It painfully reminded him of someone. He just couldn’t remember.

The sound of the doorknob rattling stopped that train of thought-

“I bet he’s not even awake!” said someone.  
Another voice hissed back “Not if you keep shouting! We shouldn’t even be here Tommy.” 

“Look, he’s still going to be asleep-“

The door swung opened and he met with equally shocked expressions from two very young boys.

“Y-you’re not even supposed to be awake!” accused a blonde haired boy, he had very big blue eyes and a bit of baby fat clinging his young face. The other boy that was standing beside him had a look of guilt, his green eyes (unlike his own eyes) were doe shaped like and had very messy brown hair. It was amusing to him being accused by this angry blonde boy and the only thing Clay could really do in this awkward situation was to laugh. 

And boy did he laugh, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. 

“H-hey! I’m speaking to you! Don’t you dare laugh!” sputtered the blonde boy, face turning bright red.

“Tommy! Don’t yell more!” 

Ah, the blonde boy was Tommy then.

“I-im just, sorry, I’m just a little confused” he wheezed out.

Brown haired boy chuckled nervously and played with the hems of his shirt, “We’re not supposed to be in here, but Tommy really wanted his fishing rod.”

“Throw me under the bus why don’t you! I can’t believe these remarks!” 

“But it’s true!”

“Yeah! But you don’t have to pin it on me!” 

Oh, so this was Tommy’s room then.

“It’s your room, I’m really sorry for intruding it” murmured Clay, he honestly felt a little guilty himself for staying in the boys room. 

Tommy waved his hands dismissively and walked over to a chest that had been hidden by that mountain of dirty laundry, “You’re okay big man, you were gonna die out there if our old man hadn’t brought you in! Tubbo come over here and take some stuff!”

So their father figure (?) was the one who found him during the incident with the raiders, he would have to apologize to Tommy and Tubbo’s dad (?) then. 

‘Tubbo’ shook his head profusely, “Nah man, do it yourself, I’m going to go get-“

“Don’t you dare!” shouted Tommy.

“I WILL!” Tubbo said as he ran out the room.  
Tommy quickly scrambled to gather his fishing rod, closed the chest and quickly exited the room, leaving Clay in utter disbelief.

Amusement as well.

He sat back down on the bed and waited patiently for someone to come back into the room, wanting permission to exit Tommy’s room, he had intruded enough and wanted to be told he could roam around the house. His stomach growled loudly and to go and eat something.

The doorknob rattled again, probably one of the boys, Tommy probably forgot something. Clay would probably ask the boy if he could accompany him so it wouldn’t seem as bad to roam the house.

Expecting said boy, he stood up, clearing his throat, he opened the door-

and any teasing words he had for Tommy, died right then and there. As he stood face to face with the man he admired in sketch form, he suddenly felt very self conscious of his own face, the man was just as pretty up close.

He hurriedly backed away from the tall beaut and looked away, he hoped his face wouldn’t give away the fact that he was completely embarrassed.

“I see you’re awake.”

_Holy shit.  
_

He did not expect _that_ voice, coming from the mouth of the man. It was deep and void of any emotion, monotone was the most accurate description of the voice. It rumbled something deep inside of him.

“I-I guess I am.” He mentally face palmed, his one chance to leave a decent impression wilted and died, as he stuttered like a fool.

_Nice one Clay.  
_

The man, who had (coincidentally) pink hair and muddy brown roots raised a brow at him. The sketch was wrong for coloring the pink haired man’s eyes a shade of bright red, they were more of a deep red, the color that ran through his veins, the color of blood.

He swallowed, “I’m so very sorry for intruding your house, it was reckless of me-“

The tall beaut raised a hand up, “If I had thought you were really intruding my house, I would have left you to die. I saw you laying on the ground bleeding out and had wanted to bring you back to my house.” He walked to where the chest was and uncovered it, he kneeled down and rummaged around.

“You were pretty injured after getting your ass kicked, I was hoping you weren’t awake so I could take out the arrow from your side. You were, so I did exactly that.”

He took out a big glass bottle of what seemed to be filled with a bright pink liquid, he kicked the chest closed, covered it with clothes and walked towards him.

Clay sat down on the bed, back hitting the headboard of the bed, as he was handed the bottle.

“After that, you had a very high fever from your injuries. Drink that.”

Not wanting to disobey, he opened the bottle and downed the drink. As soon as he got a taste, he recoiled, but the pink haired man gripped the bottom of the bottle and forcefully tipped his head back. He had no choice but to drink it.

“You did exactly that with the spoonful’s I gave you, it’s for you, it’s medicine.”

He coughed and shuddered, “It tastes horrible, it tastes of something fermented”.

He received an eye roll, “If I knew you were to respond that badly, I would have left you at the mercy of that nasty fever.” The man sat at the foot of the bed, crossing long and slender legs together.

“N-no no, I’m very thankful, I-” 

_God, why is he so nervous?  
_

“I wanted to know, what’s your name? I’ve been calling you 'the man’ in my head..”

_No you weren’t, you were calling him a beaut.  
_

“Dave.”

“Alright Dave, my name is Clay if you’re wondering.”

“Then nice to meet you, Clay” Dave said, as he looked at him with those eyes. He had a prominent cupids bow and kissable-

He coughed, “So, those were your kids? Uh, Tommy and Tubbo?”

Dave looked down and absently traced small circles on his pants, “Not mine”

“Not yours?”

“I guess they were adopted? But I’m more of a caretaker to them.”

“Oh”

Dave nodded and continued tracing circles, “What about you? Any kids? Wife you dropped and ran away from?”

“No, nothing like that” he chuckled.

“Thought so, you don’t look far from my age.”

“Tommy mentioned you being his old man though” Was it okay to tease him? Was he accidentally offending Dave for assuming he was old?

He got a small snort, “I’m not that old, that brat.”

“Not you’re really not”

Another snort, “Thanks for the ego boost, my non existent fears of being old has been resolved ”

“Really? Just from that little compliment?”

“Really”, dead panned Dave.

The conversation fell to a comfortable silence, as Clay got a good look at Dave. He was dressed in what seemed to be a farmers attire.

“You farm?”

Dave stretched tantalizing long legs out the bed, “something like that…you could say it’s something of a hobby.”

“What do you farm?” 

“Potato’s, Tommy and Tubbo help out with the farm.”

“Are you good at it? I’m pretty horrible at keeping things alive.”

“You could say I’m good.”

 _Were his ears deceiving him?_ Was that a cocky remark? Clay looked at the man and saw a twinkle in those eyes, obviously he was amused from something Clay was clueless about.

“Did you see any horse nearby when you found me?”

“No”

He was really hoping whoever was up above would have graced him with a bit of luck. Just a sliver.

_Fuck.  
_

He had nothing. His mission coming to an abrupt halt.

His mask was completely destroyed as well.

He clenched the fabric of his pants tightly and closed his eyes.

“I got rid of the raiders that were on you, when I went to scout the rest of them, they were already gone.”

He unclenched the fabric and sighed.

“They ambushed me when I stopped by a stream, they hit my horse with an arrow and I ran. They didn’t give me much time, one of their ravagers ran after me. I had lost the ravagers but the raiders soon came after me.”

“They probably took your stuff” murmured Dave.

“Look, I don’t have anything to repay you with, just give me some-“

“Clay, I’m not going to make you pay me back. You lost everything”

“Please, you’ve been nothing but kind to me and I basically forced your kid out of his room.”

“Tommy can live without having his room for a few days, but you obviously couldn’t”, dismissed Dave.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you. Not many people would have said the same.”

“Well, I know what it feels like to lose everything” he could almost hear a prominent sadness to Dave’s voice but other than that, he chose not to further explain.

(Clay wished he could rub away the tense look on the tall man’s face, but chose to not voice his concerns.)

“Is there any way I could pay you back and earn a bit of money?”

Crimson eyes met his own light green ones.

“If you really want to help… you can work with me on the farm.”

He nodded, he would just earn some money and be back on track in finding King Technoblade.

But his gut told him, he had somehow already found him.

-

The blonde man was extremely weird, it made Tommy uncomfortable. Not because he was some sort of creep, but because he fit in too well.

He basically forced himself into his family. It was just two weeks in! Was this some sort of petty teenage angst? Tommy would say no, but as he glared at the blonde hair man adamantly talking to Techno, he couldn’t help but feel as if he lost something so private.

This was _his family.  
_

No way was he getting replaced.

Even Tubbo had grown fond of ‘Clay’.

_Who names their son Clay?  
_

Did he mention they had to refer to Techno as Dave now? That’s what Techno had told he and Tubbo. When around Clay it was Dave, yuck.

He huffed and begrudgingly ate the lunch Techno had made. Stabbing rather violently at his roast beef and vegetables, he was so deep in thought that he jumped when someone’s hand ran down his back. 

He looked to see who it was to snap at them to get off his case. 

It was Techno.

He couldn’t snap at Techno, he felt his eyes water a bit and swallowed the painful lump in his throat, he huffed and looked back at his meal.

He shrugged off the hand. He didn’t need Techno’s pity, he probably didn’t know what made him so upset.

He excused himself from the table and ran outside, hearing someone shout his name.

Was he overreacting?

Clay was going to be gone, that’s what Techno had said.

He was just so afraid, of losing everything again. 

Tommy liked his new home, liked what they have built and he was terrified in knowing that something more was coming from Clay.

He didn’t want to start all over again. He was tired of running away.

He _hated_ feeling like this.

He ran all the way to the small lake where he and Tubbo fished at. 

Tommy kicked his shoes off, tugged his socks in his shoes and dipped his feet into the lake.

There were a lot of fish out today, they were all different shapes and colors. A big family of fishes swam by and he felt the start of tears falling from his face.

He angrily rubbed his face, “Stupid Clay, stupid Techno…”

Tommy grabbed a small rock and threw it at the lake, watching it skip and finally dip into the lake.

He did it a couple of times, he still didn’t feel great but he felt a little bit better. 

He should have taken some paper and charcoal with him, the lake looked really pretty today, he would’ve like to draw it today but he threw a fit instead.

He groaned, now Techno truly saw how much of a child he was.

This sucked.

Being a teen sucked.

_Bleh.  
_

“Tommy?” and wouldn’t you know it, his mood dipped back into annoyance. It was Clay.

He felt a small lick on his elbow and looked to whoever was fucking licking his-

It was Floof.

_Oh._

He petted the small pup and saw Floof excitedly lick his hand in response.

“Dave wanted me to check on you..”

“I’m fine, go away” He rubbed his hand on the fur, Floof wouldn’t leave him, he was always going to be there for Tommy. 

“He’s worried about you Tommy, you should really go back and talk to him."

“And how would you know! You know nothing about me!”

The man sat next to him, crossing his legs and looked at Tommy.

He had very light green eyes, he had freckles splattering his face. It would be fun to draw his freckles.

_No._

_It wouldn’t.  
_

“Tommy, I know why you’re upset.”

Floof whined, he let go of Floof not noticing how tight he gripped the pups hair. He made sure to remember to give treats to Floof in a way of apologizing.

“You do?”

“Yeah, you think you’re getting replaced don’t you?”

He didn’t answered. 

But he didn’t need to, because he basically confirmed Clay’s suspicions when he stayed silent.

_Fuck.  
_

“And I get it Tommy, you don’t have to explain anything. I just want to let you know, I don’t want to replace you. Dave was just kind enough to let me work for him and earn money.”

Ugh.

Now he felt like shit. He felt like a total bastard. He hated how much of a smart ass Clay was, but he was right in a sense.

“Dave loves you and Tubbo, he wouldn’t replace either of you and you know that right Tommy?”

“I guess.” Wasn’t that such a weird concept? Being loved? But Techno did love them, for as much as he didn’t explicitly say outright the "l" word, Techno expressed them through physical touches. The small pats on his back, the ruffles, the warms hugs that Techno gives, were better then any word said.

“See? Nothing to worry about.” Smartass.  
He looked down and looked at the lake, he itched to draw it.

“Dave told me you drew all those sketches in your room”

“Dave, shouldn’t be blabbering about it.”

“But Tommy, your art is phenomenal.”

Ah, complements.

A tremendous boost in confidence and ego to a young artist like himself.

“I know they are, I mean I drew them.”

Clay wheezed out a laugh and nodded, “Of course of course, the great Tommy drew them.”

“Hell yeah.”

Clay wasn’t that bad.

“Has anyone ever told you, you sound like a fucking kettle when you laugh?”

He must’ve been a comedian in his past life because Clay laughed so loudly, he swore his ears rang a little after he stopped. It honestly sounded like a dying kettle, it made him giggle a bit.

He didn’t feel that bad anymore, maybe there were some thing’s he needed to clesr up with Techno but he most definitely didn’t want to talk about it to Clay. 

“Come on, let’s go back, Dave’s probably worried about you”, said the kettle man as he stood up and offered Tommy a hand.

He took the hand and took his shoes, lazy to put slip them on.

Floof barked excitedly and ran back towards the house.

As they walked back home, unsure if this was an appropriate question, “Clay, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“How the hell did you get so beefy man? Jesus Christ man, you’re like a giant!” Which was fucking true, the man wasn’t as tall as Techno coming a few inches shorter. The shirts Techno loaned him stretched and tugged on his muscles. Man, if Clay flexed those muscles, he would rip that shirt. There had to be a secret to getting that buff.

The man shrugged, “Drink your milk and eat your veggies!”

“Now you’re just talking out of your ass!."

“I just trained a whole bunch when I was a kid.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll I got to start training if I ever want to be a giant like you!”

“I’m sure you will Tommy, I’m sure you will.” 

Clay wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Not bad at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been in the rough drafts for a few days and I'm still not completely happy with it.
> 
> I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> How is clingytwt doing? 🤪✌️
> 
> Tommy is just a teen that needs quick reminders of being loved 💔💔 
> 
> Is this romance? 😔 Ever seen someone so pretty you just wanna smooch them? Bruh

**Author's Note:**

> <3


End file.
